Rossi Does a Toseland, Finishes 11th...

Casey Stoner won the Assen MotoGP round in dominant style, leading from start to finish. Dani Pedrosa was second, outriding his team mate Nicky Hayden who ran out of fuel as he exited the chicane onto the start finish straight on the final lap, gifting third place to Colin Edwards.

Valentino Rossi dropped his bike on cold tyres on the first left hander of the race, but remounted and finished 11th out of only 13 riders to complete the race. James Toseland was 9th after struggling with set up all weekend.

Rossi: “After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today - this is racing! I am very disappointed because we made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team.

“After the crash I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although it's easy to say now, I think I could have fought with Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am looking forward now to some more technical improvements for my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every track."

In 125s, Bradley Smith led the race comfortably until it started to rain, when he fell off. The race was red-flagged and restarted but Smith's injuries prevented him from dicing with lead group. He finished in fifth place, with the win going to Talmacsi.

Race Results: Top Ten+1